A Cincinnati man was arrested last weekend after he allegedly made multiple threats online to shoot and kill U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.
ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI took Anthony Marcus Kelly, 38, into federal custody after the threats were discovered.
Kelly faces federal charges including threatening to assault, kidnap or murder a United States official, as well as transmitting communications containing threats to kidnap or injure another person.
Cincinnati-area man Anthony Marcus Kelly faces a slew of charges after multiple social media posts calling for killing ICE officers and detailing his acquisition of firearms to carry out that threat.
Charges include threatening to assault, kidnap or murder a United States… pic.twitter.com/LhQTqxt7aX
— U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (@ICEgov) July 24, 2025
He reportedly made terroristic threats against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE agents and a U.S. official, according to a news release. Federal officials said such rhetoric will not be tolerated.
“Let me be crystal clear: Threatening to kill a federal officer is not protest — it’s terrorism,” said acting ICE Director Todd M. Lyons. “This is what happens when anti-ICE activists don’t realize or care that we’re out there arresting rapists, murderers and child molesters who are in this country illegally. Enough is enough. Anyone who targets ICE personnel will be met with swift, unrelenting justice.”
Authorities were alerted to a social media user going by the name of “Slab” after he allegedly made multiple posts from his account on the social media site Bluesky, WLWT 5 reported. In the posts, he called for the killing of ICE officers and detailed his acquisition of firearms to carry out that threat.
After an investigation, the user behind the posts was identified as Kelly, who lives in the Cincinnati area. During the search, HSI Cincinnati recovered one firearm and ammunition from his residence.
Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, Tricia McLaughlin posted a photo of Kelly and screenshots of the posts that threatened to shoot and kill ICE agents, local outlet FOX 19 reported.
“You come here for me, you’re getting shot. And I’m not looking to disable your pedo a**. I’m shooting for the kill. I won’t give a f*** about your names, who you are, or anything else. You will be shot. You will be killed. End of story.”
In another alleged post, Kelly wrote “Why even bother with these damn courts anymore. #Gestapedos don’t deserve anything but the smoke coming for them anyway. #RevolutionIsTheSolution #DestroyICE they’re rabid dogs that need to be put down. Including #KristiNoem #DogmeatWalking.”
Lyons called Kelly’s violent threats “disgusting and completely unhinged,” adding they are a symptom of a larger problem: “Politicians are trying to turn our law enforcement officials into targets by scaring their constituents and whipping them into a frenzy in a fact-free vacuum.”
Calling for violence against federal law enforcement is not protected by the First Amendment, said HSI Detroit acting Special Agent in Charge Jared Murphey.
ICE agents and officers enforce laws passed by representatives in Congress — and the risk to their own safety and their family’s safety has never been higher. ICE agents have encountered an 800% jump in assaults since January.
“If members of the public disagree with our nation’s laws, they need to write their representatives, not threaten violence against those charged with carrying out the law,” Murphey said.
Kelly remains in federal custody pending further court proceedings, according to ICE officials.
Kelly’s arrest comes days after protestors clashed with police on Cincinnati’s Roebling Bridge, a vital thoroughfare spanning the Ohio River between Cincinnati and Covington, KY.
